Leopard Tortoise hatchling advice

Jackiethetortoise

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Feb 10, 2021
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Hi guys, new tortoise mom here, she’s a leopard tortoise hatchling.
My question is this, how do I know when she’s sleeping too much? I put her in her warm bath 2 times a day and she doesn’t even wake up, she has been in the same spot of her little house for like 4 hours now, I’ll pick her up and she just stays sleeping. I’m trying to get her to eat but she doesn’t want to wake up, she ate a little earlier, she hasn’t drank water she rather lay in it, her enclosure is misted 4 times a day and I have a corner with a little house and under is coconut substrate which is misted also. She won’t eat the pellet food, just some dandelion greens and kale. She. She first got in she was roaming all over the place, now she’s just on her tummy, won’t walk and just sleeping. Is this normal for her to be asleep while I pick her up, put her in a warm bath put her back and she barely wakes up?
 

OkAdiza

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Hello, welcome to the forum. Are you able to post pictures of your tortoise and enclosure set up? It might help aid some more experienced keepers in helping you.
 
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ManAlive85

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Welcome, you’ve come to the right place for information on how to raise your tortoise.

I’d recommend you leave her be as much as possible for at least a few days to acclimatise to her new home. It’s so tempting to pick her up and you’ll be anxious as to whether or not she’s okay but try to minimise handling to one good soak a day and just let her settle in with as little stress as possible for now. A massive pair of terrifying giant hands scooping you up every five minutes won’t be very reassuring, even if they mean well.

My torts go nuts when they move to new enclosures, hurtling around the place testing the walls for weak points and escape opportunities. It’s also quite common for new tortoises to eat a bunch on day one and then take themselves off into a corner for a day or two without doing very much at all so don’t panic too much about that in the short term. Tortoises do things at a different pace to most animals and several hours sat in one place having some thinking time is perfectly normal.

There are people here with far more experience than me who will be able to advise you better but I’d say it’s not entirely ‘normal’ for a tort to have it’s eyes closed when you pick it up. That said, if it’s only something you’ve noticed in the last few hours, there’s no cause for immediate panic. Ideally it’ll be alert, even if it’s withdrawn into it’s shell but as long as she’s moving around a bit between naps and you’re keeping her well hydrated, I’d bet she’s just a bit nervous.

You should post some pictures of your enclosure and details of the type of heat and lighting you’re using, the wrong kind of bulbs can hurt hatchling’s eyes so it’d be good to rule that out. It’s helpful to provide details of your temperatures and humidity levels too, these things will have a big impact on your tortoise’s health and activity levels.

Also, we all want to see the tort too!!!
 

Jackiethetortoise

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Beacon, NY
I can definitely imagine, she’s still getting used to us. I just want to make sure she’s ok in there because she’s a brand new baby and I don’t want her to get sick. Her temp right now is 86.4 and it stays between 80-90 all day. Her humidity is 36% (we’re waiting on our repti-fogger to come in) so for now I’m misting the enclosure 4 times a day with warm water and taking her 2 warm little baths for about 10 minutes a day so the humidity is ranging all day. But I try to mist every time I see the windows getting a bit dry.
 

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ManAlive85

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Cute! I don’t see any cause for concern in her eyes, from what you said I had imagined she had her eyes closed the whole time. I’m clearly not qualified to make that assessment but they look bright enough in those pics.

I’ll let the experts comment on the enclosure, but I can see there’s quite a lot that can be changed to optimise your tortoises environment. I don’t think the red light is doing any good. She needs white light and UVB during the day and darkness at night with an ambient heat source such as a CHE.

You already know your humidity is way too low but if you have a lid on your enclosure, you shouldn’t need a fogger. You need a lot more substrate from what I can see and it should be moist.

Have you read the care sheet for hatchling Leopards? It’s the go to guide and will give you almost everything you need to achieve an ideal setup.
 

Jackiethetortoise

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I did a lot of research but not anything specific for leopard hatchlings. It does have a cover for the lid and the pictures were yesterday, today she barely opened her eyes, I didn’t know about the night light, during the day she does have a uvb heating light, at night she has this red light but I can change it to just a heating bulb, I’ll put more substrate in tonight and make sure it’s nice and moist for her, thank you !
 

ZenHerper

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This is the Leopard sub-forum -- care info threads are at the top:

Tortoises can see the light the color-tinted bulbs give off, so they do not get a proper nighttime cycle. A ceramic bulb (CHE) provides proper levels of heat, but no light when other light-giving lamps are turned off at night. It's very uncomfortable to try sleeping with a weird light on.

Baby animals need a lot of cover to hide in. Open spaces in enclosures make them feel insecure. Thick plastic vines and plants are very helpful and safe, and easy to clean as needed. Torts can more easily thermo-regulate when they can choose from a lot of hiding spots.

The coil/looped types of uvb bulbs are actually very damaging to the corneas, and one of the most common reasons a tortoise will clamp its eyes shut all day. Let us know what specific type of uv radiation bulb you are using to get more specific advice on the subject.

Reptiles are an entirely different kind of critter - thanks for being such a kind and concerned mammal! =))
 

Jackiethetortoise

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This is her right now, she won’t wake up even tho I’m carrying her and she’s in a warm bath. It’s like she has no energy to stand up, she was walking but almost like dragging her self when she was.
 

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Jackiethetortoise

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Feb 10, 2021
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Location (City and/or State)
Beacon, NY
This is the Leopard sub-forum -- care info threads are at the top:

Tortoises can see the light the color-tinted bulbs give off, so they do not get a proper nighttime cycle. A ceramic bulb (CHE) provides proper levels of heat, but no light when other light-giving lamps are turned off at night. It's very uncomfortable to try sleeping with a weird light on.

Baby animals need a lot of cover to hide in. Open spaces in enclosures make them feel insecure. Thick plastic vines and plants are very helpful and safe, and easy to clean as needed. Torts can more easily thermo-regulate when they can choose from a lot of hiding spots.

The coil/looped types of uvb bulbs are actually very damaging to the corneas, and one of the most common reasons a tortoise will clamp its eyes shut all day. Let us know what specific type of uv radiation bulb you are using to get more specific advice on the subject.

Reptiles are an entirely different kind of critter - thanks for being such a kind and concerned mammal! =))


Thank you for your help ! Just trying to make sure she grows healthy and strong. So our mister arrived she’s at 92% humidity now, and I will be checking on the lighting I dumped the boxes so tomorrow I will go buy her 2 new bulbs, one night bulb just heating no light, and do you recommend any specific uvb light?
 

method89

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Give this a read. it will answer most of your questions and set your husbandry right
 

ZenHerper

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The current bulb and humidity recommendations are in the care sheet at the top of the Leopard sub-forum.

Misters are not recommended...they blow too much water volume into the air and that can congest the lungs, and even cause pneumonia in an immune-depressed individual. Ambient humidity is best simulated with moist substrate in a closed chamber. Use a good quality hygrometer (not the cheap spring dials).
 

Jackiethetortoise

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Joined
Feb 10, 2021
Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Beacon, NY
The current bulb and humidity recommendations are in the care sheet at the top of the Leopard sub-forum.

Misters are not recommended...they blow too much water volume into the air and that can congest the lungs, and even cause pneumonia in an immune-depressed individual. Ambient humidity is best simulated with moist substrate in a closed chamber. Use a good quality hygrometer (not the cheap spring dials).


Thank you ! I read the care sheets linked up top, I’ll be changing things around tomorrow morning, as of course all of our pet stores and even Walmart is closed early now. Thank you for your time. Hoping baby Jackie thrives and lives a long healthy life.
 

ManAlive85

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This is her right now, she won’t wake up even tho I’m carrying her and she’s in a warm bath. It’s like she has no energy to stand up, she was walking but almost like dragging her self when she was.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a lighting issue. I saw it on one of my girls when she was a baby and I was a total rookie, I was using a Mercury Vapour Bulb and I must have had it too close to her. She seemed fine again after a few days of resolving the issue but she became very sedentary and was completely off her food while her eyes were stuck shut. You can imagine they don’t want to eat anything they can’t see.

You can buy turtle eye drops from Amazon here in the UK, it’s a US brand so I assume it’s available in NY too. I don’t know if the vitamin formula does any good but, if nothing else, a couple of drops a day will help to lubricate her eyes and make her a bit more comfortable. Once you buy a bottle it’ll last forever and I like having some around, even just to rinse out an eye with a bit of substrate in every now and again. That along with regular long soaks should help.

Obviously if it is a lighting issue the first thing you need to do is get the offending bulb out right away. She’ll take no harm from a day or two without UVB.
 
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